Wc bowl and mounting base

ABSTRACT

A WC bowl and a mounting base, the WC bowl comprising a frame portion ( 1 ) whose lower surface ( 2 ) is intended to be mounted on a mounting foundation, such as a floor. The WC bowl comprises one or more mounting bases ( 5 ) comprising a support surface ( 51 ), the support surface ( 51 ) of one or more mounting bases ( 5 ) being adjustable at a distance relative to the lower surface ( 2 ) of the WC bowl in such a manner that the mounting base supports the WC bowl when said lower surface is located on the mounting foundation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to WC bowls and particularly to WC bowlscomprising tools for facilitating the mounting thereof and to said toolsfor facilitating the mounting of WC bowls.

Typically, WC bowls are mounted in sanitary facilities of apartments orthe like. Such sanitary facilities, such as the floors of bathrooms,have inclinations, i.e. declivities, for leading any water on the floorto the floor drain.

In spite of inclining floors, there is a tendency to mount WC bowlshorizontally. However, the bottom part of WC bowls is even, whereby thebowl must be inclined relative to the floor in connection with themounting. It is known to implement this support of WC bowls horizontallyby placing loose components to support the WC bowl in a horizontalposition. Such loose components used for the support include forinstance pieces of plastic mat, wooden ribs or the like availablematerials.

Once the WC bowl is supported horizontally on an inclining floor in theabove-mentioned manner, the gap between the WC bowl and the floor issealed with a load-bearing mass, and optionally further fastened withscrews or the like to the mass or to the floor.

Adjusting WC bowls in a horizontal position by using loose components isquite impractical, since the magnitude of the inclination of the floorvaries depending on the mounting site. In addition, the use of loosecomponents for the straightening is cumbersome. These components are tobe placed between the WC bowl and the floor while ensuring the correctplace of mounting. The mounting often takes up a considerable amount oftime precisely because of the straightening of the bowl.

However, by operating in the known manner, WC bowls are not alwayssuccessfully placed horizontally in spite of the time-consuming efforts,which often results in complaints and expensive reinstallations.

Publication CA 2066966 A1 discloses a screw arrangement intended formounting the mounting ring of a toilet bowl. The mounting rings of thetoilet bowl are intended to increase the distance between the toiletbowl and the floor. The screw used for the mounting provides a verysmall adjustment gap for stabilizing the toilet bowl, but simultaneouslyresults in the need to make several sealing joints both at the screwhead and between the toilet bowl and the floor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the object of the invention is to provide a WC bowl and a mountingbase attachable to the WC bowl in a manner solving the above-mentionedproblems. The object of the invention is achieved with a WC bowl and amounting base for the WC bowl, which are characterized by what is statedin the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention aredescribed in the dependent claims.

The WC bowl according to the invention is based on being provided withone or more mounting bases, enabling the mounting of the WC bowl in ahorizontal plane irrespective of the direction or magnitude of theinclination of the mounting foundation.

An advantage of the WC bowl of the invention is a significantly easiermounting thereof. The mounting may be performed without any loosecomponents to be placed under the bowl. The mounting of the WC bowl ofthe invention significantly quickens compared with the previous mannerof mounting, the adjustment into the horizontal position being a simpleaction.

Furthermore, in mounting the WC bowl of the invention, no more sealingjoints are required than in that of a conventional WC bowl and theheight of the WC bowl is not increased during the mounting despite themounting bases.

An advantage of the adjustable mounting base of the invention is that,when required, this mounting base may be fastened to the WC bowl beforethe mounting for supporting it horizontally during the mounting phase.The mounting base of the invention is simply adaptable to all known WCbowl models. In view of industrial production, the mounting base is asimple product, and providing a WC bowl with mounting readiness forjoining the base does not cause additional costs in the productionprocess of the bowl.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail inconnection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows the lower portion of a WC bowl according to an embodimentof the invention seen from below;

FIG. 2 shows the lower portion of a WC bowl according to a secondembodiment of the invention seen from below;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a WC bowl of the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows an example of an adjustment base for a WC bowl.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the lower portion of a WC bowl of the invention with theinner side of the lower portion of the WC bowl visible. Said frameportion 1 comprises a lower surface 2 intended, during the mounting, tobe positioned against a mounting foundation, which is typically a floor.

In the manner shown in FIG. 1, the WC bowl of the invention comprisesone or more mounting bases 5. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, two mountingbases 5 are shown, positioned on opposite sides of the WC bowl.

The mounting base 5, which is shown in more detail in FIG. 4, isfastened to the inner surface of the lower portion of the WC bowl in amanner enabling the adjustment of a support surface 51 of the mountingbase to extend below a plane constituted by the lower surface 2 of theWC bowl. This being so, the mounting base 5 supports the WC bowl, andthe mounting base enables the adjustment of the WC bowl to thehorizontal plane despite the inclinations of the floor.

The mounting base is fastened to the inner surface of the lower portionof the WC bowl by gluing, for example. For the fastening, the mountingbase comprises a mounting face 52, which is a substantially planar platesurface enabling a reliable fastening of the mounting base. Thefastening to the WC bowl may also be performed in other manners.

The mounting base comprises an adjustable projection 53, whichconstitutes the support surface 51. The adjustable projection is forinstance a screw component, such as a screw or the like provided withthreading, that can be threaded in a plate component 54 of the mountingbase, the component being similarly threaded for receiving the screwcomponent 53. Consequently, the mounting base 5 according to theembodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be adjusted by screwing the screwcomponent 53, whereby the support surface 51 of the screw componentapproaches the plane constituted by the lower surface of the WC bowl oris pulled back therefrom.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the head of the adjustable projection 53,i.e. the screw component, is arranged as a nut head serving as thesupport surface. Using a nut head is advantageous, since it makes theadjustment of the projection simple by the use of a tool intended forscrewing the nut.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 4, the mounting base is shown to becomposed of a plate having an angle of about 90 degrees. One of theplanes separated by the angle constitutes the plate component 54 and theother the mounting face 52. The projection 53 is arranged in the platecomponent 54 and has an adjustable length.

Consequently, the mounting base of FIG. 4, mounted in FIG. 1, isintended to be fastened from the mounting face to the inner surface ofthe lower portion of a conventional WC bowl in such a manner that theprojection is adjustable to bring the WC bowl to a horizontal positionwhen being mounted on an inclined surface. The strength of the fasteningof the mounting base to the WC bowl does not have to endure the loadsdirected to the WC bowl during use. Accordingly, the simplest manner offastening the mounting base is gluing, which enables the supporting ofthe weight of the WC bowl.

A WC bowl comprising the mounting base of FIG. 4 is mounted by bringingthe WC bowl into the desired, i.e. typically a horizontal, position byusing the mounting bases. Load-bearing mounting mass or the like is thenapplied between the lower portion of the WC bowl and the mountingfoundation, the mounting mass thus receiving the weights of the WC bowland the user. In other words, the mounting base of the embodimentsupports the WC bowl only during the mounting. The mounting is furthercompleted by fastening the WC bowl to the surface in the desired mannerby using screws, for example.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the WC bowl of the invention. Inthis embodiment, the mounting bases are arranged fastened to each otherin such a manner that the adjustable projections 53 are fastenedadjustably to a support plate 64 that extends from one edge of the lowersurface of the WC bowl to the other and bears on the lower surface ofthe WC bowl. The support plate 64 is bent such that the ends of thesupport plate can be located at the lower edge of the WC bowl and thesurface receiving the adjustable projections 53 of the support plateinside the lower portion of the WC bowl. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1,the adjustable projections are preferably composed of a screw component,allowing the distance of the adjustable projections from the lower edgeof the WC bowl to be adjusted by screwing the projections. Similarly,threaded holes are provided in the support plate for receiving theprojections, adjustable by screwing, in the manner shown in FIG. 2.

The support plate extending from one side of the WC bowl to the other ismounted in position for instance when the hardening mass used in themanufacture of the WC bowl is still partly soft. In this case, thesupport plate can be positioned in such a manner that the ends thereofthat are placed on the lower surface of the WC bowl are pressed againstthe lower surface. Particularly, the ends of the support plate can bepressed only against the inner edges of the lower surface of the WCbowl, in which case the support plate mounted under the WC bowl cannotbe detected at all.

The mounting base according to FIG. 2, comprising a support plate 64 forthe adjustable bases, is intended to support the weights of both thebowl itself and that of the user of the WC bowl. From the adjustablebases, the weight is transferred to the frame of the WC bowl via thesupport plate. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the support surfaces 51 ofthe adjustable projections are shown to be composed of circular feet.The purpose of the feets is to distribute the weight of the WC bowl to alarger support surface on the mounting foundation and generate a largerfriction between the mounting foundation and the WC bowl.

When the WC bowl according to the embodiment of FIG. 2 is being used,the mounting of the WC bowl is simple. The WC bowl is positioned inplace, and the inclinations of the mounting foundation are taken intoconsideration by adjusting the mounting bases until the WC bowl is inthe desired, i.e. generally in a horizontal, position. The gap remainingbetween the WC bowl and the mounting foundation may then be filled witha mass used for sealing, and the WC bowl may be fastened with screws tothe mounting foundation. The mass used does not have to be aload-bearing mass, since the structure of the embodiment of FIG. 2supports the WC bowl and the user of the bowl.

For the sake of illustration, FIG. 3 shows a WC bowl 31 of the inventionon a mounting foundation 32. The WC bowl is tilted backward relative tothe mounting foundation, since the mounting foundation is inclinedforwardly (in the figure, to the left). Accordingly, the WC bowl of theinvention is adjusted to the horizontal plane by using the adjustablemounting bases 51. For increasing clarity, FIG. 3 is shown without anyseaming or mounting mass to be optionally added between the WC bowl andthe mounting foundation.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technologyadvances, the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in avariety of ways. Consequently, the invention and its embodiments are notrestricted to the above examples, but can vary within the scope of theclaims.

1. A WC bowl comprising a frame portion whose lower surface is intendedto be mounted on a mounting foundation, such as a floor, wherein the WCbowl comprises one or more mounting bases arranged inside the frameportion of the WC bowl and comprising a support surface, the supportsurface of one or more mounting bases being adjustable at a distancerelative to the lower surface of the WC bowl in such a manner that themounting base supports the WC bowl when said lower surface is located onthe mounting foundation.
 2. A WC bowl as claimed in claim 1, wherein oneor more mounting bases comprise threads, the distance of the supportsurface of the mounting base relative to the lower surface of the WCbowl being adjustable via the threads of the mounting base.
 3. A WC bowlas claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more mounting bases are composedof a threaded plate component fastened to the WC bowl and a screwcomponent, a head of the screw component being arranged to constitutethe support surface of the mounting base.
 4. A WC bowl as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the mounting base is supported on a support plate thatis located transverse relative to the lower surface of the WC bowl andsupported on the lower surface of the WC bowl.
 5. A WC bowl as claimedin claim 4, wherein the support plate is supported between the lowersurfaces of the WC bowl in such a manner that the ends of the supportplate are located on top of the inner edges of the lower surface.
 6. AWC bowl as claimed in claim 4, wherein the support plate is bent insidethe lower portion of the WC bowl to extend above a plane defined by thelower surface of the WC bowl when the WC bowl is in the position of use,the support surface of the mounting base being adjustable to extendbelow said plane defined by the lower surface for supporting the WCbowl.
 7. A mounting base for mounting a WC bowl on a mountingfoundation, wherein the mounting base comprises adjustable projectionsfastened adjustably to a support plate that is adaptable inside a frameportion of the WC bowl to extend from one edge of the lower edge of theWC bowl to the other and to rest on the lower surface of the WC bowl,the adjustable projections of the mounting base comprising a supportsurface that is adapted to rest on the mounting foundation when themounting base is mounted in the WC bowl and the distance of the supportsurfaces being adjustable relative to the support plate.
 8. A mountingbase as claimed in claim 7, wherein the support plate of the mountingbase is bent in such a manner that the ends of the support plate arelocated at the lower edge of the WC bowl and a surface receiving theadjustable projections of the support plate is located inside the lowerportion of the WC bowl when the mounting base is mounted in the WC bowl.9. A mounting base as claimed in claim 8, wherein the adjustableprojections are composed of screw components and that the support platecomprises threaded holes for receiving said screw components.
 10. Amounting base as claimed in claim 9, wherein the support surface of theadjustable projection comprises a nut head.
 11. A WC bowl as claimed inclaim 2, wherein one or more mounting bases are composed of a threadedplate component fastened to the WC bowl and a screw component, a head ofthe screw component being arranged to constitute the support surface ofthe mounting base.
 12. A WC bowl as claimed in claim 5, wherein thesupport plate is bent inside the lower portion of the WC bowl to extendabove a plane defined by the lower surface (2) of the WC bowl when theWC bowl is in the position of use, the support surface of the mountingbase being adjustable to extend below said plane defined by the lowersurface for supporting the WC bowl.